Prime Minister calls on witnesses to testify

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said anyone with evidence to support allegations that there was a paedophile ring involving politicians and officials in the 1980s should go to the police.

The report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into care home abuse was released on Wednesday and includes a small section on a confidential, separate investigation into allegations of the existence of a paedophile ring in the 1980s.

The report said the investigation began early in the investigation process and examined seven broad allegations, including child sexual abuse by former central government politicians and prominent public servants in Horowhenua and Wellington.

However, it was said that the investigation was challenging and a lot of time had to be invested in building the trust of potential witnesses.

“Some people who may have had relevant information were unwilling to provide a witness statement or survivor’s account to the inquiry because they feared reprisals due to the position of power their alleged abuser once held or still held.”

One witness provided direct, first-hand evidence of organised abuse of children and young people in social care settings, and two survivors alleged they were sexually abused by various former central government politicians. One survivor said he witnessed the repeated rape and sexual molestation of several non-speaking children at the Kimberley Centre near Taitoko Levin.

However, “none of the allegations of organized group abuse in state care facilities … could be substantiated by direct evidence,” the report said.

“Although the evidence received by the inquiry is deeply suspect, the inquiry cannot conclude that organised abuse of children and young people in state care by groups of people in influential public positions has taken place.”

One case was referred to the police, who provided an update in November 2023, stating that progress had been hampered by difficulties in obtaining evidence.

When asked about it, Luxon urged anyone with evidence to come forward to police.

“We have said we want people to come forward to the police if there is a need for prosecution or further investigation. But as you know, in this particular case there was great concern about these allegations, but the Royal Commission of Inquiry itself could not make a finding on that because there was no solid evidence,” he said.

He was also questioned about the matter yesterday and said that the government would support the reopening of investigations and, if necessary, the initiation of new prosecutions.

“Yes, we will. And here, too, the matter is quite complicated. If you are one of the survivors and have told your story to the commission of inquiry, the files will be sealed because that is what they want.”

“Of course we want people to come forward and actually work with the police to further investigate this matter.”

For many, having to go through the evidence gathering process again has been traumatic, but survivors should be able to access their own records through the Survivor Experience Service if they wish to present them to the police.

“We encourage people to come forward so that the police can actually conduct a fair investigation.”

In fact, the 3,000-page, 16-volume report presented much more concrete evidence of widespread abuse and neglect throughout the period covered, from 1950 to 1999, including systematic physical, racist, ableist and anti-disability abuse perpetrated throughout state and religious welfare systems.

These included medical abuse, solitary confinement and slave-like conditions. About 82 percent of the survivors who testified during the investigation said they had been sexually abused.

It was found that “most of the factors that led to or contributed to abuse and neglect during the study period continue to exist.”

rnz.co.nz